Month: September 2014

Do you ever hit a “block” with your creativity? You know, a time where you sit down to make a card or a scrapbook page and absolutely nothing you do “works?!” I hit one of those blocks this weekend, as I was trying to complete my fall colored entry for SUO’s challenge. Despite the great ideas in my mind; nothing, but, nothing, was coming together on paper. Finally, I pulled up my Inspiration File and started scrolling through the various ideas I’ve saved for just such a time. In my quest for inspiration, I once again watched Susan Campfield’s tutorial on a “glowing” Magnificent Maple. After watching the video I decided to give it a try. Inking up the image was fun; but, then I was faced with how I wanted to mount the image and once again my creative juices would not flow. I turned the lights off and left my studio, determined a good night’s rest would help. Early the next morning, I revisited the card and decided to gold emboss a Magnificent Maple leaf and attach it in such a way that it looked like it was drifting to the ground. Ahhh, I was finally pleased enough to declare the card “finished!” So, what do you do when you face a creativity block? I’d love to hear from you.

While I was away at the beach my new SU order arrived, which meant my Bootiful Occasions stamp set was waiting for me when I returned home. Since discovering the bandana technique earlier this month, I’ve been eager to get my hands on the Bootiful Occasions cowboy boot and see how I could use the boot with the technique. This week’s Retrosketch Challenge provided me with the layout and from there the card just flowed together — I love when everything falls smoothly into place! The Hardwood background stamp inked with Soft Suede and stamped onto Crumb Cake offered a rustic background to showcase the images. Once again I used Daydream Medallions and Madison Avenue for the bandana effect and then just doodled with a white gel pen around the black images. The boot was colored with the Skin Tone Blendabilities and highlighted with Soft Suede. A few loops of linen thread added a cowboy-ish finishing touch! This was honestly a very quick and easy card!

My family and I enjoyed a wonderful time in Ocean City Beach last week; I LOVE having all my kids and their partners together under one roof for an extended period of time (be sure to check out the picture below)! We arrived back in PA on Saturday and the first thought that entered my mind when I got out of the car was, “Fall arrived while we were gone! Brrrr!!” With the change of temperatures, I automatically reached for my Fall stamps once I got back into my studio. I used the Friday Mashup challenge for my layout, incorporating leaves into the sketch design for the Mashup. To create the background, I stamped the Lovely as a Tree oak leaves onto the Cajun Craze Colour Me Autumn DSP with Versamark, then sprinkled on some clear embossing powder and heat set it.

To provide a two tone effect, I sponged Old Olive over the DSP matte and then wiped the ink off the embossed surfaces. I was pleased with the subtle Fall background it provided for the Season of Thanks image. A simple linen bow topped with a natural button (colored with a Blendabilities marker) provided the finishing touch.
STAMPIN UP STAMP(S): Season of Thanks, Lovely as a Tree, Express Yourself
STAMPIN UP INK: Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, Old Olive, Tangelo Twist, Tangerine Tango, Crushed Curry, So Saffron Soft Suede, Blackberry Bliss, Sahara Sand
STAMPIN UP CARDSTOCK/DSP: Crushed Curry, Old Olive, Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla, Colour Me Autumn DSP
ACCESSORIES: Deco Label framelits, Word Window punch, Natural button, natural linen thread, clear embossing powder, heat tool, sponge, dimensionals, glue dot

As promised, here’s a picture of my family after celebrating my birthday in Ocean City; I am SO blessed!

The calendar page has turned to September; wow, summer flew by SO quickly! With the fall months arriving and my new DSP In hand, I decided it was time to design a new quilt card. I selected one of my favorite layouts and 3 different patterns from the Flashback DSP pack. This week’s SUO challenge is to highlight at least one of SU’s wonderful embellishments. I chose one of the Vintage brads as my featured embellishment.

To make the card, I punched 1” squares from the DSPpaper. Then I cut a piece of 4×4 Very Vanilla which I proceeded to cover with double sided tape. Next, I laid out the squares (which were cut in half diagonally to form triangles) onto the adhesive, and then embossed the fully mounted piece with the Baroque EF. After mounting the image onto the various mattes, I poked a hole with the paper piercer into the middle of the “quilt” and also into the corners and then inserted the brads.

I’ve been thoroughly enjoying trying many new [to me] techniques that I’ve found on my various cyber wanderings. I saw this technique implemented by Paula Dobson and just had to give it a try! ColourQ’s Challenge provided me with the palette, so I was able to jump right in and start inking! I randomly sponged Bermuda Bay, Strawberry Slush and Lucky Limeade onto a piece of Whisper White. Next, I lightly spritzed the inside of my Modern Mosaic embossing folder and then pressed the folder against my inked panel (I did not run it through the big shot). After the panel dried, I stamped my image with Night of Navy. A few rhinestones added all that was needed to complete the image. I did run my background base through the big shot using the Modern Mosaic EF, just to add some texture. This was a really fun and easy technique; I’ll definitely be sharing it in one of my upcoming technique classes!

Do you ever “wander around on line” as if you were wandering through a store? I sure do! I find so much inspiration browsing through Google images, Pinterest and You Tube. In the midst of my “wandering” last week, I stumbled upon the bandana technique. This was totally new to me and really excited me, as I had just placed my fall order which included the Bootiful Occasions stamp set. My wheels started turning on how I could use the bandana technique with the cowboy boot. While waiting for my order, I thought I’d use this week’s Pals Paper Arts sketch challenge as a layout for my first attempt with this technique. Knowing I didn’t have any paisley stamps, I perused my various stamp sets to see what I had that would work to create a bandana effect. I selected Daydream Medallions along with Madison Avenue and was quite pleased with how well these two sets worked together. Having been an avid doodler for longer than I can recall, this technique was right up my alley — so much fun just doodling, doodling, doodling with my white gel pen. Now, I can’t wait until my Bootiful Boots arrive!